


Make my Messes Matter (Make This Chaos Count)

by KenkuKry



Series: You taught me the courage of stars before you left (Victors' Tower) [1]
Category: Lunch Club (Podcast), SMPLive, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Except they're not tributes :), Fanfiction of Fanfiction of Fanfiction of an AU of an AU, Gen, How many layers are we gonna get lads, I see you kudos and bookmark and I despise you, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, shippers do not interact
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:36:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24770122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KenkuKry/pseuds/KenkuKry
Summary: RT is a new Gamemaker. He used to be an architect for the Capitol but this opens up so many more opportunities! The art he can make out of endless fields, how he can try to recreate the night sky, the sky is quite the literal limit.Of course he can't stand looking at the screens when The Games are on, and it makes him uncomfortable each time someone points out his accent, but this is his dream job. After all, why would he ever question the motives of the Capitol?~~Congratulations to Daniel Condren, aka RT, the new Gamemaker!
Relationships: gross - Relationship, if you're a shipper fight me
Series: You taught me the courage of stars before you left (Victors' Tower) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908334
Comments: 22
Kudos: 71
Collections: victors' tower (stories from floor 6)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WreakingHavok](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WreakingHavok/gifts), [everythingFangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingFangirl/gifts).



> EF: *writes vt fic with RT in it*  
> Me, rabid as soon as I saw the tag: This is mine now :)
> 
> Thank you so much to the absolutely lovely Fizz, my hypeman while I wrote this as well as rambled with my on the Victors' discord and betaed this, I can't ever thank you enough <3
> 
> Small note: I know in this tag there's a lot of shippers, I just want y'all to know that Victors' Towers are strictly NO SHIPPING. It serves of an example that you can write wonderful things without them being romantic, I'm sure that you guys have the ability to write non-ship fics. It is semi-disheartening to see the ratio of 11 non ships to the overall 115 fics in RT's tag, though :/
> 
> Anyway, on with the fic!

RT loves his job, it’s only been a few months but it’s already better than any project he’s ever been on. Sure, he can’t look at the screen while they’re showing The Games, maybe he feels awkward when his accent is made fun of a few too many times, but what matters is how absolutely _amazing_ his job is.

For one, the technology is astounding, he doesn’t have to bother with orthogonals, blueprints or _anything_. All that is in front of him is a couple computers and a modelling table. He particularly likes the modelling table, as he can move his hands to shape the environment, raising his hands to elevate and create towering mountains, he can carve deep ravines, dig out tunnels, there’s _so much_.

Every day RT enters the relatively ambiguous building with a childish grin on his face, so excited to see what he can do next.

This day was a bit different. As soon as RT stepped out of the elevator he was called on by his superior. Seth Bling, the soon to be retired Head Gamemaker, is a bit too casual for what their job is and enjoys poking fun at those below them. (It’s a bit ironic, later Daniel would think).

“Good lad RT, top of the mornin to ya’!” Seth says in a terrible mock of his accent. It’s become a running joke in the office by now, even though they mostly say lines popularised by the District 10 Victor Jacksepticeye.

“Good morning,” RT responds with a slight grimace, “what’s the plan for today?”

“Well, since you’ve seemed to adapt so well to the arena dev tech, it’s about time we do some study.” Seth says. He gestures for him to follow, then starts towards the cinema room with a bounce in his step. RT immediately doesn’t like where this is going.

With a slight nervous laugh, he responds “I’m good, I have a great idea to-”

“Oh I’m sure you do but it always helps to have some insight. We don’t want another 39 on our hands!”

It’s said like a joke, but the office goes silent. If people weren’t looking at them they sure are now. 39 isn’t a subject used lightly, even RT knows that. _How the hell do I respond to that?_ Thoughts rush through his head on how to react, is this a test? Seth is still smiling, in his periferal a civil engineer looks like she’s about to run from her seat, so many are frozen mid movement, were his hands always shaking? _Seth is still smiling, eyes locked on like a pred-_

Someone clears their throat and as suddenly as it stopped, time seems to move again.

“My offer is still there, RT, but I’ll leave you for now. I have a few tasks for you to do before you’re let loose, make sure they’re completed by 1PM.” With a small wave, smile still clinging to his face, the Gamemaker strolls away as if nothing happened.

~~

There’s a couple post-it notes on his work-desk from different sectors. Apparently even though his job is one of the most important, being new still means he’s treated like an intern for things avoxes can’t do. It’s distinctly different to his stoic coworkers in the Capitol design branch who treated him with such respect, he’ll just have to climb the ranks for their respect once again. He’s getting tired of this by now.  
Among the sticky-notes is a piece of paper that seems quite important, RT picks it up to read it.

_“Hello, new Gamemaker!_   
_I need you to go to floor 5 where the mutt designers are, there’s a dude named Kevin there. I need you to collect a USB from him which should contain some of the details about a new mutt that he’s making._   
_There are some things you need to know first, though. Under NO circumstance should Kevin be aware of what the use is for the mutts(he’ll call them ‘animals’ or ‘designs’, stick with what he says), who he is working for, or any details about your own job. He will constantly ask questions on these subjects, good answers are:_   
_Film/movie creatures_   
_Zoo ‘animals’_   
_Cereal brand mascots_   
_Should Kevin realise who/what he is working for, there will be serious consequences for the future of The Games._   
_Thank you for your compliance,_   
_Félix Lengye, Mutt Gamemaker_   
_[I have to add those last lines, even though they’re pretentious as shit]”_

The last line was scribbled on in afterthought, a little sign of torsion in the words. Are all the Gamemakers this informal? RT sighed, pulling his back straight, he would just have to adapt to the new environment, _again_. There was supposed to be pride in his steps when working at such a prestigious job. So many opportunities were opened up to him, endless designs at his fingertips. He’s so _happy_ to have this job but he’s met two Gamemakers by now and both have seemed so… Informal.

RT should get going, contemplating over others isn’t getting him closer to what he really loves about his job. The tasks aren’t going to complete themselves, after all.

~~

RT has never been on an elevator to a different floor since his tour. The elevators are located in a pure white hallway away from the actual floor. A stoic Peacekeeper stands out front, unmoving. With a small nod of respect to the Peacekeeper, he enters the elevator and makes the near silent descent to Floor 5, the Mutt Division.

RT enjoyed the silence while it lasted, because whatever is happening on Floor 5 is definitely not silence. There’s pictures on the walls of the strangest creatures RT has ever seen, long necks, gigantic cats, murderous _plants_? The people in there are swarming like ants, there’s a giant whiteboard full of ideas, there’s someone shouting about genetic bugs, there is so much noise and colour and voices and is something burning over there?

It takes a while for RT to gain his composure, he’s always been the one to observe things in finer details but he ain’t handling that shite right now, even if he had gloves. He repeats the sequence in his head: Find where this Kevin dude is, talk to Kevin, get the USB, leave as soon as possible. He can do this. Breathe in. Breathe out. There is a method to this madness.

He approaches a woman who seems relatively unoccupied, staring quizzically to a bluish toned egg in front of her. With a slight cough to catch her attention, he asks “Do you by chance know a man named Kevin here? Where could he be?”

She perked up, making RT slightly wince, _she’s going to point out the accent, isn’t she_. His thoughts were incorrect, as she replied by pointing to a relatively tall man staring at the whiteboard, “I think Benjamin knows where he is half the time, Kevin is a peculiar one here, we don’t really know what’s happening with him.”

With a quiet thanks, RT weaves around people rushing by towards the man, slightly breathless when asking “Do you know where Kevin is?”

“Well I do, but don’t ever interrupt my thought process again,” _that’s a bit harsh, I just want to know where the man is_. “He should be in his personal work room at the moment, it's just further right, my right, near the Deafening Owls. I’d remind you about what you can tell him but you should already know.”

The man was still staring at the whiteboard, instead with more of a glare now, as RT slipped away one more.

~~~

The door in front of his office has a traditional wooden one with hinges and a lock, that’s the first thing that confused RT. Those haven’t been seen in the Capitol for decades now, the more sleek sliding doors looked better in all modern architecture. Here the door looked like a complete eyesore compared to the aesthetic of the rest, standing out like a sore thumb yet no one noticed.

He remembers the etiquette of these doors, probably from an old book he read somewhere, and knocks his knuckles on the door three times. It’s a weird sound and his hand hurts a bit, but he knows he did the right thing when the sound of a chair screeching on the floor is heard from inside. Did the person inside knock something over? There’s definitely something tumbling inside there, maybe one of the mutts they’re making.

A man who seems even more lively than the others opens the door, waving him in animatedly.

RT steps awkwardly into the room, looking around. It’s very vibrant, feathers pinned to the wall of all colours, an old fashioned taxidermy of some long extinct creature on a shelf surrounded by jars, there're colours and shapes and textures and smells, _eugh_. In short, it is quite the attack on the senses. RT turns when he notices the man, around his age and height seemingly(although it is difficult to tell age in the Capitol), is waving again.

“Why hello there, I’m Kevin!”

_Is he mocking me, already? Did he hear around the office about my accent? Solstices, this is going to be something I’m going to have to get used to._

With a tight smile, “I’m RT, I’m a new G- I’m new here,” RT only remembers what he should _not_ do just in time, “I was tol-”

“Oh you’re new? That’s cool! I’m guessing I won’t get an answer out of you but I’ll try anyway; why am I here? What even is my job?” Kevin tilts his head slightly, still keeping the mock Irish accent.

“I’ve been told you’re an excellent designer for these creatures, we need ray-tracing of some video game monsters that you seem best at making. Anyway, abo-”

“That’s one I’ve actually heard before, never the ray-tracing part though,” Kevin seems more animated now, gesturing with his hands, his accent seems to be getting stronger, too. If RT hadn't seen this done before he would have sworn that Kevin actually had his accent. “Do you play many video games yourself?”

“I actually do, the recent vr games coming out have been really interesting.” _Why is he still having this conversation? He needs to get back to his division._ “I was actua-”

“Oh, yes! The new Half Life game was great! Although they’re sayin’ it isn’t Half Life Tree-”

RT’s brain stops. That isn’t something people pick up on about his accent, pronouncing ‘three’ like ‘tree’. Wait does this lad-

“You actually have the same accent as me?” RT bursts out, cutting Kevin off as he’s mentioning something about graphics.

“...Yes? I thought it was obvious? Why would I lie about my accent?” Kevin seemed perplexed, thankfully not offended by the outburst.

RT all of a sudden feels very embarrassed, “Well you see, there’s usually a lot of people who- there’s people that make fun of it, and I just thought...” Stumbling over his words, RT ends with a vague hand motion.

There’s a pause as they both stare at each other, Kevin’s smile turns into less of an excited puppy, instead into one of a person who simply understands.

“I’ve had the same issue, I’ve just been here long enough to learn how to deal with it. It’s unfortunate, but one day you will too.” It’s a calm, resigned tone. RT gets a better look at who this man really is, he sees the dark marks under his eyes, the slight look of confusion he seems to have. If Kevin’s been here for a while, that means he has been left in the dark, left to make sense of what he’s doing for a while, too. The first questions that he asked seem just a little bit more desperate now.

“It’s an unfortunate reality, I guess. It’s nice to finally meet a Capitol citizen with the same accent though, I haven’t met anyone outside of my family, actually. You seem like a good lad, too.” There’s a small smile on his face as he gives his unspoken offering. RT’s only had neutral work friendships at best, this seems like a good time to change that.

Kevin maintains eye contact with RT, giving him a small, almost unnoticeable nod, before his eyes widen, blurting, “I just remembered! You were here for something, right?”

Honestly, RT had forgotten too. “There was a USB that I was supposed to get, if I remember correctly.”

“Oh, that! That should be…” Kevin scrambles over to his workbench, lifting paper, his keyboard, even looking into a fishbowl that contained an unfriendly looking fish with more teeth than one should reasonably have (do fish even have teeth?). Eventually he finds it under a cereal box, for some reason, and returns to Daniel with a wide grin on his face. “Here ya go! Hope you like working here.”

Daniel returns the grin, “I’ll be sure to find out. I guess it’s time to take my leave, hope you have a good day.”

“You too.”

Daniel starts walking away, then hesitates as he’s about to close the door behind himself. He can feel that this friendship is going to have a good future, so he turns around to say something.

“I hope I will speak more to you soon, Kevin.”

Kevin, who seems to have already dug into his next project, looks up to his new co-worker to reply.

“Good luck.”

With a mild click, Daniel shuts the door behind himself, somehow with a wider grin than he had when entering the building.


	2. Birth of a Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RT goes to his Book Club, except it's not the typical type.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typically one would beg for forgiveness over not updating in weeks, but you guys have the rest of the Victor's Tower to read, there's literally hundreds of thousands of words.  
> I will tell you this, though: There IS plot just WAIT because I am a nerd for WORLD BUILDING. Let me have this, please.

"All stars are the result of a balance of forces: the force of gravity compresses atoms in interstellar gas until the fusion reactions begin. And once the fusion reactions begin, they exert an outward pressure. As long as the inward force of gravity and the outward force generated by the fusion reactions are equal, the star remains stable. The star begins as relatively useless gas, but once under natural pressure it becomes something much larger. Something more important. It is vital, though, that the star strikes a balance. An unstable star is disastrous."

- _What is A Star?: Questions About the Universe Around Us_

  
Things go as regular from there. RT wakes up, eats his breakfast, enters his workplace (nodding to the Peacekeepers), finishes menial tasks, avoids Bling’s offerings to study the old games, works on his new arena, talks to Kevin, then goes home to sleep. He occasionally goes to his ‘book club’ whenever there are scheduled meetings. Daniel is the perfect Capitol citizen, one that even the president himself would approve of.

~~(He enjoys talking to Kevin, they're on a 'game discussion and criticising the other's taste' level now. Kevin wouldn't stop laughing when Daniel said that City Skylines was one of his favourites.)~~

The issue is that his ‘book club’ isn’t exactly legal, so to speak. As regular book clubs do, they meet up at a cafe to talk about the book that they all have read. The older lady with greying hair always has strong opinions on a new autobiography that a Victor has written. Another lass, with bright green hair and a fake grasshopper in it, always chooses the opposite of the opinion of the group, for some strange reason. There are other things he picks up on, too, such as how the person who runs it makes sure to never leave any trace of himself behind. They all always eat food that doesn't have wrappers or anything that can be left behind. The makeup on the person who runs the book club makes his face appear fake. 

The cafe owner is relatively kind, though. They get a lot of business out of the book club, who are always tidy and never leave a trace behind themselves. Some of the older members help to water the plants that fill the cafe, taking extra care to the growing vines near the cameras.

There are only a few consistent members, including RT himself. A lot of people show up only once and chicken out quickly. RT can’t blame them, though. He nearly ran for the hills when he saw a Peacekeeper stare at the group for a little bit too long his first time.

As he mentioned before, this book club isn’t a particularly legal one. That isn’t because of the cafe or what happens during the sessions, it’s more of what happens after.

~~

“-and that’s why those bastard ‘Victors’ shouldn’t be treated so well, they’re no better dirt than the pile they came from!” The greying lady finishes with a smug look on her face.

With a loud clap, the man who runs the book club, Ren (or at least that’s what he calls himself), announces “well, that’s it for today! Time to get going, you all, it’ll be nice to see you soon.”

There’s quite murmuring as everyone stands up, cleaning up after themselves. A kind woman with red-toned hair sprays down the tables, making them look as good as new. If RT looked, he could probably see his own reflection from how well it’s been consistently cleaned.

“What are you looking forward to reading?” A girl dressed in bright yellow sneaks up beside him.

_What books are you going to get?_

“Ah, I’m reading this and that, a pretty wide variety of genres. See you next session!”

_Anything I can get my hands on._

It's a typical small talk for post-session, something to make everything run a bit more smoothly, a bit more ordinary. Ordinary makes eyes glance over you, ordinary means safe.

RT gives a small wave before heading off in the direction of his home, humming softly to himself. It’s a sunny day with a trace of clouds, signing towards the end of Summer. Autumn will be beginning soon, his job is going to become significantly busier. Maybe he’ll miss some book club sessions. 

As he’s thinking about it, he takes a sharp right turn into a dark gap between the stores.

~~~

Even in his coat, it’s frigid in the alleyways, that’s probably why they’re barely cleaned. There are no cobwebs, (RT doesn’t even know what those are, just that they’re mentioned in books he’s read, maybe it’s just an old phrase?) Anyway, it’s mostly dust and rubbish blown in by the wind. The alleyways seem so foreign when compared to the rest of The beautiful Capitol. From an architect standpoint, he isn’t even sure why they need to exist anymore, but he’s glad The Capitol graciously decided to keep them. He is also glad that they’ve been abandoned.

With practised grace, RT navigates towards the meeting place. He runs his smooth fingers against the rough surface of the cement walls, toned blue by the limited light. His clean shoes make only a light clicking against the ground, the sound bouncing off the walls. The meeting place is one of the deepest alleyways with a camera that The glorious Capitol hasn’t bothered replacing in years. Most of the cameras on the pathways here are covered or destroyed, too.

Ren is already there with his shop out. There’s a lot of larger books out today, someone probably sold them after an old relative passed away, or he may have got them from something else. RT knows nothing about who Ren is or how he gets the books, he’s just grateful that he sell them.

All the books in front of RT are banned or have never gone through the Capitol selection process. All books made between an old date and the day the glorious Capitol was created are banned under strict regulations. Most of the books to come through the rightfully strict Capitol guidelines are bland and boring, though. So many literary lovers turn to different options, such as these ‘shops’.

“Nice to see ya, Tumble. Early bird gets the worm, am I ‘ight?” Ren slips into a completely different person when selling, there’s a bit more force in his words, his calm demeanour turns into fidgeting and twitching. RT sometimes wonders who Ren is outside of the book club, but the post-club session is something you do quickly, so he promptly looks over the books.

As always, Ren has thrown in some old non-fiction that no one ever bothers purchasing, it’s more for filler than anything. Ren is completely aware that no one is here for the false information the pre-Capitol was taught. Since an early age, every self-respecting Capitol citizen knows that those old non-fictions are filled with trash, the only reason that his group read fiction is that they know it’s fake. 

Ren has been on the receiving end of many shouts about this from a wide range of customers.

Ren continues to use them to make his collection look larger, it helps business, he says.

Now is not the time to halt, RT reminds himself, glancing over the titles.

_Notes on a Nervous Planet, Fahrenheit 451, some old textbook about fish, another non-fiction about the weather, The Hobbit-_

RT’s eyes pause on a nonfiction book, in golden text surrounded by little stars and abstract shapes is the title ‘The Night Sky & Beyond’. It's quite a pretty cover, navy blue not dissimilar to the sky at dusk. It's a fascinating subject matter too and... No. He’s sworn to himself that he’d never get non-fiction for at least some moral high ground, but he’s always _loved_ the stars. And he can’t seem to tear his eyes away.

It seems a bit colder, now. In his peripheral he sees Ren giving him a weird look. ‘Tumble’ is never the type to go off ranting about this, he’s always on the quieter side, so something interesting is definitely going to happen.

RT hears the footsteps echoing down one of the connected alleyways, followed by menial chatter. He has to decide before the others get here.

With a deep breath, RT leans down and swipes up the book.

“How much,” RT says in a rushed, urgent tone, glancing at all the entrances.

Ren looks shocked, staring slack-jawed for a few seconds before uttering “half the price of regular-sized fiction.”

RT pays him in cash, stuffs the book under his coat and _runs._ As fast as he can, away from the footsteps. He’s staring at the ground, meaning he didn’t see what- or who he was colliding into.

He crashes into the cement floor, only having a singular free hand to break his fall. Huh, Daniel didn’t know that the ground back here was so rough. His eyes quickly dart back to his impact victim when they shout.

“Hey what the hell was that Tumble?” It’s the girl dressed in yellow from before, and she looks deservedly _pissed_.

“Sorry! Sorry! I wasn’t looking- I apologise for- just-” RT cuts himself off from verbally stumbling even further into this hole. Instead, getting up swiftly and offering his hand, which isn’t instantly accepted.

“What,” the girl pauses, staring at the ground near RT’s shoes, “is that.”

RT switches his focus to what she’s staring at, and the book is lying, open, on the floor. Diagrams of a star on full display, fully annotated, sometimes including more detailed images. RT quickly swipes it back up, closing it with a thump.

“It’s a new post-modern style book that Ren got! I can’t explain much, I gotta leave! Business!” RT rushed a semi-convincing lie before sprinting away.

There were two things that RT realises on his sprint back home:

One, he is _not_ good at running.

And two, he hadn't even bothered checking the other books, so now he’s stuck with a non-fiction novel and his old books until the next session. 

He is not looking forward to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all those in the discord! Helping me be inspired to continue writing!


End file.
